Not a Game, Kent Babb
Not a Game, Kent Babb
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Not a Game
The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson

Author: Kent Babb

Narrator: Michael Butler Murray

Unabridged: 10 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/14/2020

Synopsis

Through extensive research and interviews with those closest to Iverson, acclaimed Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb gets behind the familiar, sanitized, and heroic version of the hard-changing, hard-partying athlete who played every game as if it were his last.

Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson was once one of America’s most famous athletes: a trendsetter who transcended race, celebrity, and pop culture, and emerged from a troubled past to become one of the most successful and highly compensated athletes in the world. Now, his life and career come vividly to light in this “searingly honest” (Baxter Holmes) biography.

Babb brings to life a private, loyal, and often generous Allen Iverson who rarely made the headlines, revealing the back story behind some of Iverson's most memorable moments, such as his infamous "Practice" rant, delving even deeper to discover where Iverson's demons lurked. He drank too much, stayed out too late, spent more money than most people could spend in a dozen lifetimes—blowing more than $150 million of his NBA earnings alone. His then wife Tawanna, seen often as the mild-mannered woman who tamed the bad boy, tried to keep her husband and family on the rails. But, as so many others learned on basketball courts, she was no match for the force of nature that was Iverson.

About Kent Babb

Kent Babb is a sports enterprise writer at the Washington Post, which he joined in October 2012. His work was included in the 2013 edition of The Best American Sports Writing, and his long-form journalism has been honored eight times by the Associated Press Sports Editors, including first place in feature writing in 2005 and 2010.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jeffrey (Akiva) on June 09, 2015

I was a huge Allen Iverson fan when he played for my Sixers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2001, my first year of teaching, I remember wearing an Iverson jersey beneath the robe I had to wear at graduation because I wanted to support the Sixers in the finals. So this book was a tough read. Bab......more

Goodreads review by Saksham on November 26, 2020

Never meet your heroes. Never read a book about them either. An astounding take on the life of one of the best ever, not elevating his stature, but rather placing him in his most naked, vulnerable self. While I always had an idea about the off-the-court limitations of the man I've admired forever fo......more

Goodreads review by Jake on June 03, 2020

Statistically and anecdotally, there are dozens of better players in NBA history than Allen Iverson. Iverson was famous for low percentage shots, inefficient passing and turnovers. His usage rate was outrageously high for someone whose effectiveness was questionable. When his hellbent driving skills......more

Goodreads review by Jason on June 19, 2015

We STILL talkin' 'bout practice, Man? Practice? Not a game? Yes, we are, and for good reason. Iverson was one of those Dudes to me. An FU to Corporate White America, showing Millions of young Men that they did not have to compromise to make it. I remember when an Employer told my Buddy he had to cut......more

Goodreads review by Jose on February 12, 2016

One of the best and most influential basketball players of all time, Allen Iverson. I enjoyed reading this book because he is one of my top 5 basketball players of all time. Before reading this book I thought I knew everything about Allen Iverson, but I didn't. Allen did so many bad things and good......more

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